~In the Life of a Half Marathoner-Take 2!~
10,000 runners, 50 states, 22 countries came together for a common goal and raised over $250,000!!
The Road I Travelled
The 4th Annual National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer was upon us and I had been there since day 1....so I should have been a master at this by now, right? Inaugural year completing my first half marathon... 2009 and 2010 completing the full 26.2... This year should have been a breeze, right? ...WRONG! As is with every other year, I had all good intentions of training hard all year long. Well, this year was different. I was turning 30....a huge milestone for most, and I wasnt any different. I was going to make this year stand out among the rest and travel the world. And that I did!..6 trips and 4 different countries in all! Needless to say, that takes a huge chunk out of your training calendar. I mean, who wants to spend hours running when you could be zip lining in Hawaii, snorkeling in Barbados, tasting local tequila in Mexico, or skiing in Tahoe?! So, two months before race day was under my nose before I knew it! The shoes I ordered arrived a whole size too big. Wasting 3 more weeks on the exchange process, left me with very little time to break them in, which in return left me with early stages of shin splints, which then left me with 2 weeks off from running right before race day! Oh brother! What did I do? I had to downgrade to the half marathon. So disappointed in myself, I was too embarrassed to tell anyone until about a week before race day. How could I go backwards? Well, race day ended up proving me wrong. I did not go backwards at all. I set 2 PRs, surprised myself with a new first, and put myself in a whole new pace group! It was a great race day after all! I should probably also mention and give credit to Super Bandz and Quattro Fitnes for the energy bracelet and compression socks/sleeves I bought at the Race Expo!
The morning started off SUPER cold. Temperatures feeling about 39 degrees....but it was going to be a clear, sunny, and warm day by the end of the day! I was surprisingly calm the night before and got plenty of sleep. I set the alarm pretty early about 4am so I could take my time getting ready. Nerves were setting in a bit, but not nearly as bad as previous years. I managed to eat my oatmeal, packed my bag, put on my pink ribbon tutu, and walked across the street to the shuttle. (Yes, I am super lucky to live that close! ..while others had to deal with traffic, parking situations, and late shuttles!) I was very lucky we only had to wait about 5 minutes before a shuttle came, and there was plenty of room for all of us.
I arrived at Runners Village about 615am and met up with Toni Foxx from WQIK, Vicki, and her dad. I downed a cup of coffee to keep warm, and went for seconds because it was so cold, but realized that could be a very very bad idea! So I was excited this year they had hot water as well! We stood around the light generator (it puts off heat) and waited for the call to be lined up. I love that this race has a Gear check. The warm up suit that dad bought me for christmas came in handy this year. ..I wore it over my runner pants and t shirt and was able to strip down at the last minute.
This year they had the event much more organized in many aspects...starting with the Runners Village...no more 'guests' allowed...you must have a race number to enter. This kept the congestion down and porta potties empty!
Line up time began. This was another thing that was a lot better oganized this year. The corals of each pace were physically separated by fences and they had volunteers working each entrance to make sure you were in the right coral. No more slower runners in the faster runners coral! Toni and Vicki plan was to just take their time. I wanted to set a personal best time, but decided they were keeping my nerves at bay, so I lined up in the back with them. As soon as we were lined up, Vicki and I had to make a dash through the bushes for the porta potty again! Luckily we still had plenty of time.
The national anthem was sung and it was race time! This year I had decided I was not going to follow the Galloway technique like I usually do. (the galloway is when you run for a set amount of time, and then walk a set amount ...like 1min to 1min. A beeper tells you when to run/walk.). Instead I decided to turn off all beeps/paces. I was just going to listen to my body and do what I could do, when I could do it. I still had my Garmen that would keep track of my distance and time, but I wasnt going to have anyone 'giving me permission' to walk this time.
The gun went off and I wished good luck to Vicki and Toni and took off at my own pace. Was a bit crowded getting through the beginning, but I knew from last years experience to keep my distance from the galloway groups (that can be quite large and take up a lot of space when they suddenly stop to walk). I knew from training I could run at least a mile before I stopped for a quick walk break. But when my garmin hit 1 mile, I was still feeling great, so kept on going...my 80s music blaring, my heart was singing!
Next thing I knew I was past 2 miles, so figured I could just try to beat my 5k (3.1 miles) PR (personal record). I hit 3.1 around the curve off JTB and was so excited I set a PR without walking, that I just kept going. There was a large crowd of supporters anyways, so I decided to use that encouragement to push through. I was now in the Jax Beach neighborhoods and there were a ton of people out and bands playing. My garmin was reading 4 miles and I had yet to walk. I thought to myself, how great would it be for me to run to my dad (he was at my house at Mile 6) and be able to tell him I ran 6 miles without stopping for the first time ever?! So, I was on a mission to set a 10k (6.1 miles) PR.
I turned a corner in Jax Beach and saw the Elite half marathoners were already on their second half, running by us! This is always an interesting part of the race. They are so flippin fast and you feel so slow! I was excited to see them this year, because I was a lot further down the course this time than I usually am when they pass me!
We entered the sand about mile 5. I grabbed a cup of water and a cup of gatorade and slowed to drink, when I realized I had to pee. Not just had to pee, but I was about to pee my pants!...Where the heck did that come from? I had to go so bad, I almost couldnt get myself to start running fast again! I finally was at my pace, and I could feel myself getting tired. But I just kept telling myself 'you just ran 6 miles without stopping'. This may not mean a lot of most people. Especially those that are running half marathons and marathons. But like I said before, I had always followed the galloway technique of walking every other minute. I think it is an awesome program for beginner runners. But I now feel like I was probably held back a little from my true ability.
I love the running on the sand part of the race. It is probably the most calm part of the entire course. The beach is so wide, we are no longer running on top of each other. The view is amazing. Looking out into the ocean, I forget about everything...how heavy I am breathing, how my calves are starting to ache. It is so peaceful! I see my dad and neighbors in the distance and run up to them for hugs. My neighbor Norma is the best...she made a posterboard sign for me with not only my name, but my website, Pink Feet, and then drew 2 feet, and it read "going the extra mile for a cure". She is so cute! She stands out there and cheers on every single runner every year! I gave quick hugs, and almost peed my pants again...my dad started walking with me a bit after I told him I was on a good pace. The pier was straight ahead and was the turn around point.
At this point I was definitely starting to get tired. But I was so amazed how fast it seemed the race was going. ( I guess thats what happens when you run faster!). It took me a couple of minutes to start running again. I ran off the sand, knowing there would be porta potties right there, but my excitement was shattered when I saw there was a line! ..well I just held it for 6 miles, whats another mile of two?
My dad had gone to get my puppy and was waiting at Mile 7 on 1st Street. I ran all the way there and stopped to give hugs to my puppy and off I went to complete the half marathon! My dad stayed out there the rest of the day with my neighbors and my dog to cheer on the runners. I later learned that my puppy stared at the direction I ran off in the rest of the time, and whenever another runner ran by in a tutu, she got all excited and tried to run to them!
I finally reached a porta potty about Mile 9. I have to say thank you to everyone else for not stopping there! I was back on course, but definitely walking more at this point. My thought process was, 'you aleady set 2 PRs, it doesnt matter what your finish time is!' Looking back, I realize that was my wall. Usually during the full marathon, its about mile 18-20 where the same thing happens. Your mind convinces you that it is okay to give up on what you really want. Your mind takes control and convinces you that nothing really is important except crossing the finish line. Even though that is not what you think all year long. All year long you train for a certain time. You want to beat your time from previous runs. I am still learning how to deal with that wall. I hope to one day be able to run a race and bust right through that wall.
At this point, the relay runners are passing me by at a pretty fast pace. They kind of make you angry, which is kind of good because it gets you running again. The relay runners do about 5 miles each with a 5 man team. So when you are at mile 10, the next relay runner is taking off pretty fast past you with all this energy and all you can do is think 'give me some of that energy!'
I would like to thank the man who set up an orange and beer stand at in Jax Beach about Mile 9. Although it was REALLY tempting, I just took the orange slices, which my calves were screaming for. I also want to thank the other family that had a cooler on the side of the road that were passing out their own cups of water. For some reason it seemed there was a really long stretch between water stations at this point, and they came at the perfect time!
I was about to enter back onto A1A to go back onto JTB when I realized my left foot kept sliding in my shoe. I found this weird because usually your feet swell. I remembered I had on the compression socks/sleeves and then I put another then sock over top, worried about the compression socks not being thick enough to prevent blisters. Apparently the compressions kept my feet from swelling so I had a bit of extra room. I have to thank the family that had empty chairs set up that let me sit down to take off my extra stinky pink socks and throw them away! As I took them off, I laughed to myself because this is usually the part where Al meets up with me and runs with me, and I am so pathetically exhausted at this point, all I want to do is sit. I laughed because this time I still felt so great!
Back on the road I went and up to the hills of JTB. For some reason in previous runs, I never noticed that you can see the Mayo Clinic sign from JTB, off in the distance. I noticed it one day driving to work, and thought 'hey, that would be extra encouragement during the race!", since the Mayo clinic is one of the beneficiaries. So that is what got me through the treacherous hills of JTB this year. When I thought I wanted to just stop and walk, I looked up at that sign in the distance and kept going.
At this point, the first Elite marathoner was coming by! It is amazing how they are almost sprinting the entire race! He was so far ahead of everyone, it felt like a good 5-10 minutes for the next Elite marathoner came by!
At water station 11, I want to thank the high school boy that handed me water. I stopped to get the water, and he pointed straight at me and said 'you can do it!' It is little things like that, that volunteers do, that get us runners through the race and call it a great race!
Around that point too, a young lady was running past me and patted me on the back. I thought it was someone I knew, but it wasnt. It was just a kind woman giving support. It is amazing how many wonderful people come out for such a wonderful cause.
The last bridge/hill was a piece of cake this year. I had been playing leap frog with a couple of other runners for the past couple miles, but I had told myself I would tackle that bridge and not let it defeat me like it tries to do every year. I put my head down and just kept running. (if you look up, you know how much more of an uphill battle you have. Not knowing, I guess, is better for me). An extra burst of energy came from no where and I gained some distance from the other runners. I then took advantage of the downhill but my garmin was still telling me I wasnt going to make it in the hopeful finish time I wanted... but I was going to be pretty darn close! I sprinted in the straight away.
Back home I met up with my dad, neighbors, Michelle, and my puppy and we cheered on the runners til the very last one. It was a great feeling to be on both sides this year....as a runner, and as a supporter! We got to see Donna and Tim, Mr Galloway, and the courageous 83 year old man who wouldnt give up even after he had fallen at Mile 17. It was a beautiful day! And I cant wait to do it again Feb 13 2012!